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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLAD by FRANCOIS VILLON

Poem Explanation

First Line: I DIE OF THIRST BESIDE THE FOUNTAIN'S BRIM


I die of thirst beside the fountain's brim,
As hot as fire, with my teeth chattering,
In my own land a stranger, a pilgrim;
Beside a brazier I stand shivering,
Bare as a worm, in rich appareling;
I laugh in tears, while waiting hopeless here
And taking comfort of my sad despair;
Rejoicing, although pleasure I have none,
Powerful, with nothing that I can or dare
Welcomed by all, and he whom all men shun.


Nothing is sure to me except a whim,
Obscure, except the clear and obvious thing,
Only in certainties my faith is dim,
And knowledge has an adventitious ring;
I am the loser, gaining everything;
At dawn I bid good evening, and I fear,
While lying prone, lest I should fall from there;
I'm rich, and have no coin beneath the sun,
Expect a legacy, though no man's heir,
Welcomed by all, and he whom all men shun.


I care for nothing; taking care to trim
My course for profit, claim no single thing;
The man who flatters most, I'm vexed with him;
Who speaks most true is most dissembling;
He is my friend who has me crediting
Of each white swan that it's a raven here;
Who thinks to help me brings disaster near;
Jesting and truth, to me they are all one.
Remembering all, I yet see nothing clear
Welcomed by all, and he whom all men shun.


Kind prince, I pray you that it please you hear
That I know much, yet have no sense to spare,
Am partisan, yet all laws bear me down.
What then? Make me once more your pensioner-
Welcomed by all, and he whom all men shun.






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